


Shattering Stereotypes

by notalwaysthevillian



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Arguing, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2019-11-15 15:48:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18076316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notalwaysthevillian/pseuds/notalwaysthevillian
Summary: Logan Sanders. Resident nerd of the school. On the road to valedictorian.Roman Prince. The most popular kid in school. Baseball star.When the two are paired together for a group project, they quickly realize that everything they've ever thought about the other is wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic's main pairing will be Logince, with Moxiety and Remile taking place in the background.

As Logan walked into his first class on his first day of junior year, he was feeling nothing but peace. His favorite class, taught by his favorite teacher, to start off his year? How lucky could he be? It was perfect.

He wasn’t as lucky as he thought, however, as he walked in and saw Roman Prince. He’d somehow managed to avoid having a class with him until now, but he felt all that peace drain from his body as the baseball star turned and met his gaze.

Both of them simultaneously groaned.

“Boys? Is there a problem?” Mx. Stokes capped their dry erase marker and raised an eyebrow.

“As long as I don’t have to sit next to him?” Logan jerked a thumb in Roman’s direction. “No.”

Roman crossed his arms. “Looks like we finally agree on something.”

The look that came over Mx. Stokes’s face made them uneasy. Despite their assigned seats being on opposite sides of the room, both of them were on edge the entire class.

Five minutes before the bell rang, the other shoe finally dropped.

“Let’s talk about your final project for the semester.” They said, the glint returning to their eye. “You and a partner will have to write your own play. It can be any genre and cover any subject matter, so long as it’s school appropriate. If you’re unsure, you may always ask me.”

Chatter filled the classroom in an instant as kids started to pair up.

“However,” Mx. Stokes continued. “ _ I _ will be choosing your partners. Logan and Roman, I do hope you’ll be able to work well together, because you’re my first group.”

“What?!” Roman screeched, causing some nearby students to cover their ears. “Please tell me you’re joking!”

“Are we being graded on participation? Because I’m not doing the whole thing and letting him claim that he did the work.”

“I do know  _ some _ things!”

“You don’t have the evidence to back that claim.”

“Boys!” The two stopped arguing, looking up at their teacher. “Yes, Logan, you’ll be graded on participation. You’ll also be graded on teamwork, so if I see that you’re not working well together, I will dock points. Now, may I continue my class?”

“No.” Logan said, shocking the room.

Mx. Stokes was taken aback. They were aware that Logan talked back in other classes, mostly to teachers who deserved it. But Logan had never done so in his classroom. “No?”

Logan made a vague gesture just as the bell rang. “Class is over.”

“If you’d like to know your partner now, you can see me. I’ll write you a hall pass.”

Gathering up his books, Logan stuffed them in his bag. He threw the bag over he shoulder and turned.

Running straight into Roman.

“What do you want, Prince?” He hissed, quiet enough that no one heard.

Roman rolled his eyes. “You heard Mx. Stokes. We have to work together. You’re a nerd, so I’m assuming you want to get this done as soon as possible. When do you want to work on it?”

“Don’t you have practice everyday or something?” Logan asked, moving around him and heading out of the classroom.

“It’s fall, Specs.” Roman said as though that explained everything. He matched Logan’s steps easily, reminding Logan just how short he was.

“And?”

An amused look crossed Roman’s face. “Do you  _ not _ know something?”

Logan whirled around, fixing a glare at the jock. “Could you just tell me what you’re talking about?”

“Baseball season is in the spring.” The stunned look on Logan’s face made Roman laugh. “And here I thought you knew everything.”

“Everything of use.” Arriving at his locker, Logan began to switch out books. “You were correct in assuming that I would like to get this done sooner rather than later. If today works for you, we can start creating an idea for our project.”

“I’ve got nothing going on.” Roman leaned against the wall. Spotting someone, he perked up and waved. “Patton!”

The redhead practically skipped over. “What’s up, Ro?”

Roman flashed him a smile. The same smile that had infuriated Logan since freshman year. “There’s a party at my house on Friday. You’re invited. Help spread the word, yeah?”

“No problem!” Patton hesitated for a moment. “Are you inviting Logan?”

Roman glanced over, seeing Logan trying to look as if he wasn’t listening. “If he wants to come, he can. But I’m sure it’s not really his scene.”

“You don’t know me.” There was a slam as Logan closed the locker. “I’ll be there.”

“Great.” Roman shifted, standing fully upright. He looked down at Logan. “Meet me on the steps after school. Then we’ll head to your place.”

“Fine.”

Sliding his bag over his shoulder, Logan headed to his next class. On the way passed Remy who looked like he’d as though he’d hit the jackpot.

Logan being Logan, he didn’t think anything of it.

At least, not until he heard rumors swirling.

“Did you hear? Roman and Logan are hanging out after school.”

“I bet Roman’s getting Logan to do his homework for him.”

“I bet Logan’s bribing Roman so that he can be cool.”

“I bet they’re secretly together.”

Each student appeared to have a different idea of why Roman was heading to his house. Instead of fueling the fire, he opted to ignore everyone. After all, none of them asked him directly.

He entered his final class of the day, which was study hall for some god forsaken reason, hoping that no one would bother him. If he could get all of his other work done, he’d be able to work on the project with Roman and then have time to destress.

Purple flashed in the corner of his eye.

“I heard Roman is coming over to your place after school.” Virgil said, pushing his lilac bangs out of his face. “Is it for that English project?”

“Thank god, someone has some fucking common sense in this school!”

“Logan!” Talyn called out from their desk. “If you’re going to swear, at least be quiet about it?”

Nodding to them, he turned back to Virgil. “Who did you get paired with?”

“Remy Sinclair - gossip extraordinaire.” Virgil rested his head on his arms. “I don’t know why I can’t just do it by myself.”

“Could you handle that by yourself?” Hurt flashed through Virgil’s eyes. “From the little I know about you, having you present alone in front of a classroom of teens that analyze your every move sounds like a bad idea.”

“They didn’t say anything about presenting.”

While Virgil’s tone was calm, there was panic in his eyes. Logan reached out, awkwardly patting his shoulder. “If I know Mx. Stokes as well as I think I do, that’ll be half the grade.”

Virgil shot up from his chair, nearly knocking it over. “I - I have to - I can’t -”

He darted out of the room. Talyn looked over at Logan for an explanation, but he didn’t know what to tell them, so he just shrugged.

Vaguely aware of another student asking to go after Virgil, Logan pulled out his assignments and got to work. He breezed through everything in the allotted class time, putting it away right as the bell rang.

After a quick stop at his locker, Logan headed to the front steps, preparing himself for the worst afternoon of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Implied violence, blood mention, swearing, mention of dress coding, parental teasing

Leaning against the railing of the front steps, Roman was content to people watch. Remy and his neighbor, who Roman could not remember the name of, passed by talking about some show. Patton was standing on the edge of a group of cheerleaders, a smile on his face as he nodded along.

His teammates strolled up, Toby leading the pack. “Hey, Prince, we’re headed to Val’s.”

“I can’t today.”

“Why not?”

“My English partner wants to get started on this stupid project right away.” Roman rolled his eyes. “Like, can’t we just do it later?”

“Sucks that you got paired up with an overachiever. I got paired with that quiet kid.” A smirk crossed Toby’s face. “I’ve already…convinced him to do the project on his own.”

Something twisted in Roman’s gut. “He says I gotta help or he’ll tell.”

“Damn, you drew the short straw.” With a wave of Toby’s arm, the team started to head to the parking lot. “Later.”

Roman watched them file into Toby’s truck and take off down the road. Not a second after they were out of sight, someone tapped him on the arm.

Logan stood there, anger burning in his eyes. “Can you tell your teammates to fuck off?”

A heavy sigh left Roman’s mouth. “You’re late, Albert Whinestein.”

“I’m late because your asshole friends left Seth curled up in the hallway with a bloody nose!”

_I’ve already convinced him to do the project on his own._

“Is he okay?”

“He is now!” Logan shoved him. Normally it would’ve been hilarious having the shrimp try to move him…if it hadn’t been this particular situation. “No thanks to you.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Roman asked, running a hand through his hair. “Toby doesn’t listen to me.”

Logan opened his mouth to respond, quickly closing it again. “Come on, let’s go. There’s eyes and ears everywhere.”

He turned and headed off down the sidewalk. Roman caught up immediately.

“So, do you have any ideas for this project?”

Logan pulled a notebook out of his backpack as they walked. He flipped it open to the first page. “Mx. Stokes is likely expecting a comedy or tragedy, as that’s what Shakespeare was known for.”

Roman let out a dramatic sigh. “It wasn’t just comedies and tragedies, he also wrote histories and romances.”

“What?”

“I said -”

“I know what you said.” Sliding his backpack around, Logan put his notebook away. Clearly Roman didn’t need to read his notes. “But how did you know that?”

“I…my family…” Seeing that Logan wasn’t buying it, Roman decided honesty was the best policy. “I’ve always had in interest in the arts.”

“Then why not try out for the fall play? Or the spring musical?” Logan took a shortcut. “If you enjoy it -”

“I like baseball too.” Roman’s normally boisterous voice was scarcely above a whisper.

“You sound as though you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Roman went quiet and the two finished their walk in silence.

Logan stopped in front of a quaint little two-story. The exterior paneling was a beautiful blue, offset by the white fencing on the front porch.

It looked like something out of a magazine.

“Nice place.” Roman said, finally breaking the silence.

“Thank you.” Logan headed up the steps and twisted the knob. He nearly walked into the door when it didn’t open. “I thought my dad was home, but I guess not.”

The door swung open. A man waved them inside, his brown eyes landing on Roman. “You didn’t tell me you were having friends over.”

“We’re not friends, we’re project partners.” The two said in unison.

“My mistake.” The man turned to Roman, holding out his hand for a shake. “I’m Logan’s dad, but you can just call me Preston.”

“Thank you, sir-Preston.” Roman looked around the room. A black couch faced a tv, which was hung over the fireplace. To the right were two navy armchairs that faced the windows outside. “It’s nice to be here. You have a lovely home.”

“Why thank you.” Preston turned to his son. “Can we talk in the kitchen?”

“I don’t care if we talk in front of him.” Logan waved a hand in Roman’s direction.

With a nod, Preston said, “I got a call from Mr. Rockwell today. He said you were disrupting the class?”

Logan rolled his eyes as he took off his jacket. “Only because he disrupted another student’s learning.”

Preston sat down in an armchair. “How did he do that?”

“Marisa took off her sweater in class today, because apparently Mr. Rockwell doesn’t know how to open a f-open a window.” Logan barely managed to stop himself from swearing. “Her straps were ‘too thin’ so he made a scene. ‘Ms. Phillips, are you aware you’re breaking the dress code? I’m sure if I held my dirty old fingers on your shoulder the strap would be too thin.’ After he said that, I figured he didn’t want his students to learn, so I may have also made a scene.”

“Logan.”

“What? All I said was that it wasn’t as if all the boys in class were going to get instantly hard because of her shoulders.”

Preston rubbed his temples. “Logan, you can’t say things like that to your teachers. I know it’s frustrating, but you only have two years left. Please, just behave?”

Crossing his arms, Logan looked at the floor. “I can’t promise that, but I guess I can try.”

“Thank you. That’s all I can ask.” Preston rose from his chair, pulling a disgruntled Logan into a quick hug. “Now, what do you and your frie…partner want for dinner.”

Roman was surprised to see Logan blush. “Dad, don’t - if you say partner it sounds like we’re together.”

“You’re not?” Preston teased, laughing as Logan buried his face in his hands.

“Dad.”

Preston threw a smile in Roman’s direction. “Any allergies?”

“No. And I’m not a picky eater.” Grabbing a hanger, Roman hung up his jacket. As Preston disappeared into the kitchen, Roman dragged his backpack over.

“I’m sorry.”

Pausing from pulling out his supplies, Roman gave Logan a look. “About what? Parents are just like that.”

“Would your parents say that?” Logan sat next to Roman on the couch and unzipped his own backpack.

“Most likely.” Roman flipped open to a fresh sheet of paper.

“Where do you want to start?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Parental teasing, food mention

After arguing for over half an hour, the two boys agreed on doing a romance set in medieval times. It satisfied Logan’s desire for historical details and Roman’s love for love.

“If we want to impress Mx. Stokes, we need more than one plot. I suggest we have two subplots, as that would put us at a higher academic level than our classmates.” Logan explained, drawing up a chart. “Your suggestion was that the prince and his tutor slowly fall for each other. However, we need something to cause a problem.”

“What if the king needs to form a peace with a far away kingdom?” Roman plucked the pen out of Logan’s hand and began drawing a few stick figures. “He promises his son’s hand in marriage. And for subplot A, that prince is in love with a prince from his neighboring kingdom.”

Despite his initial irritation at being partnered with Roman, Logan was starting to find that the jock was a lot smarter that he let on. “That’s brilliant. How did you come up with that?”

Roman flushed at the compliment. “I, um…I had a big imagination as a kid.“

“To add another layer, we could have the palace messenger secretly seeing the royal painter.”

“I love that!”

A knock made them both look up. Preston was standing in the doorway. “Dinner’s ready. I assumed that pasta was a good option for two hungry teenagers.”

Roman’s stomach growled, causing all of them to laugh. “I guess I’m hungrier than I thought.”

Logan headed for the kitchen, Roman right on his heels. Preston moved back to the oven. “Logan, could you set the table?”

“How many plates?”

“Four.”

Logan dragged a small bench over. Stepping up, he opened the cabinet and reached for the plates.

Only to have Roman grab them from where he was standing.

“You know you can ask for help, right?” He teased, handing the plates over.

Logan felt his ears burning. “You’re the guest.”

“I can still help out.”

Letting out a sigh, Logan opened the next cabinet and pointed. “Can you please grab four glasses?”

Flashing Logan a smile, Roman did as he was asked. Logan put the bench back before taking the plates to the table. He went to grab the silverware as Roman put the glasses down.

“Teamwork makes the dream work!” Preston announced, coming over with a dish. “Baked ziti.”

“It smells heavenly, Preston.”

A key turned in the lock. When the front door opened, Roman saw another man walk in. His brown hair swooped low over his forehead until he ran a hand through it. One lone strand of hair fell a little lopsided, making Roman stifle a laugh.

The man’s eyes landed on Roman for a moment before they flicked to Logan. “You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend.”

“Dad!” Laughter filled the room as Logan’s cheeks turned pink. “He’s not my boyfriend. He’s a partner.”

A hand slapped over his mouth. “Oh, my apologies for assuming your gender.”

Roman doubled over, laughing even harder.

Logan was bright red at this point. “That’s not - we’re project partners. Not…”

“Logan, it’s okay. I’m flattered that you think we’re together.” Roman said, holding out his hand. “I’m Roman. He/him pronouns.”

“Thomas. Also he/him.” Thomas shook his hand, before inhaling deeply. “Preston, you’ve outdone yourself.”

Preston shook his head. “You say that every time I cook.”

Crossing the kitchen, Thomas pecked his husband on the cheek. “That’s because I still can’t.”

“You’re learning.”

“You’re a good teacher.”

Logan coughed, interrupting his parents’ love fest. “Can we eat now?”

The four of them sat down, digging in. Roman finished his first bowl before Logan was even halfway done. When he realized, he gave Preston a sheepish smile. “That was delicious.”

“Take more if you want.” Preston gestured to the half full dish. “Whatever we don’t eat will just be leftovers.”

Grinning, Roman put a few more spoonfuls of the pasta on his plate.

“Do you always eat like that?” Logan asked as he looked on. He wasn’t sure if he should be horrified or in awe.

“I have a high metabolism.”

The oven timer went off. Preston got up from the table, returning moments later with a tray of garlic bread. He laughed as Roman reached for a piece immediately.

“So, Roman, what clique are you in?” Thomas asked, resting his chin in his palm. “You strike me as a theater geek.”

Roman’s cheeks turned pink as all eyes turned to him. “Actually, I’m a jock. I’m on the baseball team.”

“Oh, my cousin was a softball player!” Preston put down his fork. “What position do you play?”

“Sometimes I pitch, but I’m mostly a catcher.”

Logan choked on his water. Coughing, he made his way into the kitchen to refill his glass. He heard a chair scrape and hoped it wasn’t Roman behind him.

“You alright?”

Thomas. Thank god.

“I’m fine. I just swallowed wrong is all.”

“You know,” Thomas leaned against the counter, looking back to where Preston and Roman were talking. “He’s pretty cute.”

“We aren’t dating.” Logan said through clenched teeth. “He’s insufferable.”

“Why?”

“Because…because he’s a jock. He doesn’t do anything to stop his friends from bullying others. He laughs along with their offensive jokes. And he gets straight Cs.”

Thomas raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like the kid I just met.”

“He’s just charming.” Logan rolled his eyes. “It’s that stupid sparkling smile of his.”

“Oh?”

“And probably the perfect hair.”

“Mhm.”

“And maybe the eyes that look like freaking emeralds.”

“Logan.” Thomas bit back a smile as his son looked up, frustration written all over his face. “It sounds like you have a crush.”

“I do not!”

“You don’t what?”

Whipping his head around, Logan opened his mouth to make an excuse. But Thomas’s words must’ve gotten in his head because when he turned he couldn’t help but notice how perfectly Roman’s waves looked in the light of the setting sun. Or how his eyes shimmered with happiness.

The same eyes that were staring at him, waiting for an answer.

“I don’t, um…” Logan racked his brain for an excuse, but nothing came to him.

After a moment of silence, Roman pushed his chair back. “I should probably get going. I’ve got other homework to get done, and I have to babysit my sister tonight.”

Thomas elbowed Logan in the side.

“I’ll walk you out.”

Roman grabbed his stuff from the living room before heading to the door. Logan pulled it open, waving him through.

Roman, the little shit, took a step forward, trapping Logan against the wall. There was no malice in his eyes. “Can you not say anything?”

“About?” Logan squeaked, his cheeks blazing with heat immediately.

The corners of Roman’s lips twitched. “About me actually knowing stuff. I don’t really want the guys to know.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Strong arms wrapped around Logan and the spicy scent of cologne filled his nostrils. “Thank you.”

Roman stepped back and headed out, closing the door behind him.

Logan stood frozen, cursing every being he could think of.

He had a crush on Roman Prince.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Drink mention, briefest mention of alcohol, teasing, flirting, high school party

The rest of the week was Logan’s own personal hell.

He couldn’t tell if Roman was doing anything on purpose. He could’ve needed to stretch, which would’ve caused his shirt to ride up and show the tiniest sliver of skin. Spilling water on himself, and making his shirt cling to his muscles, could’ve been an accident. And running a hand through your hair was common, right?

By the time they were wrapping up on Thursday night, Logan thought he was going to explode.

“Logan?”

“Hmm?” Logan turned, knocking his forehead into Roman’s.

The jock laughed and leaned back. “You know, you don’t have to come to the party tonight. I know you only said you were going to prove a point.”

“It’s no problem. I have the weekend to finish my work.” Logan followed Roman as he made his way to the front hall. “Besides, a party sounds…fun.”

“You sound as though you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Silence hung in the air. Logan snapped his head up. “I -”

“If you want to come, that’s fine. But don’t force yourself to do something you don’t actually want to do.” Roman opened the door. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

Mind reeling, Logan waved and closed the door. Roman was so much smarter than he let on. To be completely honest, that was the most attractive thing about him.

“Poor guy.”

Logan jumped. He whirled to find Preston standing there, leaning against the door frame of the dining room. “What do you mean?”

“He’s obviously unhappy with where he is in life. I’m willing to bet that his dad forced him into sports and he’s too scared to jump ship now.” Preston mused.

Biting his lip, Logan’s eyes landed on their script on the coffee table. “He does seem to really enjoy drama.”

Grabbing his son, Preston pulled him into a hug. “Help him find his way.”

“So…you won’t mind if I go to his party tonight?”

“Not at all.” Letting go, Preston gave him a wink. “Just be safe, don’t do anything I - don’t do anything your father wouldn’t do, and be home by midnight, Cinderella.”

Rolling his eyes, Logan excused himself and headed up to his room. As he began to look through his closet, he realized he had no clue what to wear to a party.

“Time for some research.”

Pulling out his laptop, Logan started to look for what was considered “in”. As he browsed through the various fashion blogs and online magazines, he quickly realized that a majority of what he was seeing was nothing close to what he had in his closet.

With a groan, he put the laptop down and leaned back against his sheets. “What am I supposed to do?”

**Bzzt**

Unlocking his phone, Logan found a text from Roman - who must’ve changed his name when Logan wasn’t paying attention.

**Prince Charming: Hey I figured a nerd like you would wanna be punctual so you can come over anytime now**

Ignoring how his heartbeat sped up at the name, he stared at the message. Maybe…maybe Roman would help him out?

Before he could think, he typed out a message and sent it.

**Logan Sanders: What should I wear to the party?**

He watched the dots appear and disappear a few times. Roman was probably trying to tone done some sort of insult.

When the next message came through, any rational thought he might’ve had vanished from his mind. Roman had sent him a selfie. His hair was perfectly styled, drawing attention to his striking green eyes. His white button down had a simple rose pattern and Logan could see that it was half tucked into his jeans.

His tight jeans.

**Prince Charming: This is what I’m wearing but you can wear whatever makes you comfy**

**Logan Sanders: Thank you. I’ll get dressed and be right over.**

Before Logan could put his phone down, one more message came through.

**Prince Charming: Youre welcome ;)**

Blood rushed to his face. Thankful that Roman wasn’t actually present, he ducked into his closet once more. There were a few shirts he’d shoved to the back, thinking he’d never wear them. It was now or never.

He pulled out a navy and burgundy striped button down. His jeans would work well enough, and he’d just grab some sneakers as he left.

Making sure his hair was ever so slightly mussed, he held his phone at the proper angle and took his own selfie. Holding his breath, he sent it to Roman.

**Logan Sanders: How’s this?**

The dots appeared. Then disappeared. Then reappeared.

**Prince Charming: Perfect!**

**Logan Sanders: I’ll be leaving shortly.**

**Prince Charming: See you soon**

Scrolling back up, Logan clicked on the photo and saved it to his gallery. Purely so that he’d have a reference in case he ever went to another party.

Grabbing his phone, he left his room. He debated darting out without saying anything, but he knew Thomas would want to know where he was. And Preston would probably say something inappropriate.

“Dad? Father?”

“Kitchen!”

The smell of vanilla hit him hard as he walked in, making him plug his nose. “It smells like you murdered the Pillsbury Dough Boy.”

“Hey!”

Preston gently took the vanilla from Thomas’s hands. “Hon, you put in a 3 tablespoons instead of 3 teaspoons.”

“Are they not the same thing?” When both Preston and Logan shook their heads, Thomas sighed.

“I’m heading to Roman’s party. I’ll be back by midnight.” Logan hovered for a moment in case they had more questions.

Instead, he got two equally mischievous smirks. Before they could tease, he darted out the front door, hearing laughter as he closed it behind him.

The walk to Roman’s was fairly quick. Within ten minutes, he found himself standing in front of the biggest house on the block. Music could be heard behind the wooden door.

Grabbing the knocker, he knocked a few times. Would Roman even hear him over the music? Should he just -

“Logan! Thank god, I need help.”

Warm fingers wrapped around Logan’s as he was dragged into the house. He glimpsed a counter full of chips and soda in the kitchen before Roman tugged him into the living room.

All of the furniture was pushed against the edges of the room, creating a makeshift dance floor. Logan was relieved that there would be plenty of seating. He was not one to make a fool of himself in front of everyone else.

“It looks like you have all of this under control. Why did you need my assistance?” Logan asked as he looked around.

A sheepish grin spread across Roman’s face. “I didn’t think I’d get everything done in time, but I must’ve underestimated myself. And I’d already told you that you could come over…”

“Oh.” The realization hit Logan smack in the face.

He was alone.

With Roman.

In Roman’s  _house_.

“When, um…when does the party start?” He squeaked, cursing his voice.

Roman smiled, but thankfully didn’t comment. “It starts in about ten minutes, but knowing the guys they won’t be here for another half hour, but there’s a few people that’ll be here right on time, so…whenever people get here.”

Logan started chewing on his lower lip, looking around the room. His eyes landed on a picture of the family.

“That’s the day we adopted little Dahlia.” Roman said as he came up behind Logan. “She’s the best little sister I could’ve asked for.”

“Why did your parents adopt?” Logan asked. As he turned around he found himself just a few inches from Roman.

Unaware of how close they were, Roman shrugged. “Mom said it was because after me, she couldn’t have any more kids. Too much of a risk on her life. But she’d always wanted a little girl, so they jumped at the chance to get Dahlia. But I’m glad they did.”

“I was under the impression that most siblings fight.”

Roman’s heavenly laugh nearly had Logan swooning. “Some siblings do, some don’t. But one thing is for sure, we have some pretty weird things that only we understand.”

Logan gave him a look. “What do you mean?”

A pretty pink blush started to rise on Roman’s cheeks. “When Dahlia wants a movie night, she’ll stand in my doorway and sing nonsense until I pay attention to her. Or when I watch her while my parents are out, we’ll just lay on the kitchen floor, eat ice cream, and make weird noises at each other.”

“That sounds so weird.” Logan said with a laugh. “I wonder if there’s been any studies done on the linguistics of siblings.”

“Yeah, well you’ve got plenty of time to think about that after the party.” Moving toward the hallway, Roman opened the door. “Hey, Pat!”

“Ro!”

Logan stood to the side and watched as Patton threw his arms around Roman, giggling. Another person came in behind Patton, moving around the two chatterboxes and into the living room. One glance at the purple bangs was all Logan needed to get an identity.

“Virgil. I wanted to apologize for -”

Virgil waved a hand in the air. “You’re good. You didn’t know.”

“That doesn’t excuse my behavior.” Logan followed Virgil across the room, sitting next to him on the couch. “I looked up whatever I could find on anxiety and various attacks so I’ll be more prepared if it happens again.”

Wide eyes stared back at him. Logan could’ve sworn he saw them shine before Virgil blinked. “Um…thanks. That’s really nice of you.”

“I take pride in being informed on various topics.”

There was a beat of silence as Virgil looked back towards the door. Logan followed his gaze, unsure of who he was looking at. Thinking about it, Virgil and Roman would make a great couple. Patton caught them looking and headed over.

“Logan, I’m glad you came!” He grinned as he sat on Virgil’s other side. He leaned around him to continue talking. “I know you’re probably not a big fan of parties, but they’re great when Ro throws them! His parents don’t allow alcohol in the house at all, and he makes sure to kick anyone out that might bring it in. And his parents are so cool to let us use their place! When they get home they’ll probably head down to the theater with Dahlia.”

Logan raised an eyebrow. “The theater? Why would they come home to just leave again?”

“Oh, that’s right, you’ve never been here before. There’s a home theater in the basement! They have so many good movies.” Patton continued to lean forward as he spoke, putting his hand on Virgil’s leg to stabilize himself. “I can see if Roman will invite you to a movie night. You too, Virgil.”

“R-right.” There was a small dusting of pink on Virgil’s cheeks as he looked over at Patton.

Concern flooded into Patton’s eyes immediately. “Is there too many people? Do you wanna leave?”

Glancing around, Logan realized that the living room had started to fill up. They’d so easily split themselves up into groups. The cheerleaders were dancing to the pop music, he could hear what was probably the football players in the kitchen, and the so-called outcasts were hovering on the edges.

“Logan?”

Patton was standing next to the couch now, with Virgil by his side. “Yeah?”

“We’re gonna get drinks, did you want anything?”

“I’ll come with you.”

The three of them headed to the kitchen, which was now free of partygoers. Logan opted for some Hawaiian punch while the other two grabbed sodas.

“So, Logan.” Virgil hopped up onto the kitchen counter, ignoring the look Patton gave him. “I’m not the party type. Neither are you. Why are you here?”

Taking a sip of his drink, Logan met Virgil’s stare. “I could ask you the same question.”

Oblivious to the stare off, Patton chimed in. “Roman invited him, why wouldn’t he come?”

A smirk appeared on Virgil’s face. He swirled his soda can around. “Oh?  _Roman_ invited you? I thought you two hated each other.”

“Mx. Stokes paired us for the project, you know that.” Something about the look on Virgil’s face was making Logan’s blood boil. “We had preconceived notions of the other due to the nature of high school. Being paired with him has…enlightened me.”

Two sets of eyes stared at him blankly.

“I stereotyped him and found out I was wrong.”

“Ohhhhh.”

“Jinx!” Patton cried out, pointing at Virgil. “You owe me a soda.”

The smirk on Virgil’s face softened. He waved a hand to the table. “Take your pick.”

A giggle fell from Patton’s lips. “Why thank you.”

Logan looked back and forth between the two, feeling as though he was intruding. When he caught Virgil’s eye, he raised an eyebrow, asking a silent question.

The blush that crept up Virgil’s cheeks was all the answer he needed.

“Ah, Virgil, just the man I was looking for!”

Logan rolled his eyes. Remy had a flair for the dramatics, despite not being in the drama club.

Virgil shifted on the counter. His voice had gone quiet. “Why were you looking for me?”

“Two things. One, when are we getting together for this project? I know you’re in art club, but we gotta do the thing, boo…uh, dude.” Remy waved his phone in the air. “And Em wants to know if you’re doing okay.”

Logan excused himself from the room, opting to find Roman. This really wasn’t his scene, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. It would be easiest just to say his goodbyes and then leave.

He wandered through the house, looking for that rose button down. Toby had glared at him when he went upstairs, so Logan turned around immediately. He searched the main level, not finding Roman on the dance floor or the couches.

Remembering the theater Patton had mentioned, Logan headed downstairs.

Roman sat on the floor, rifling through some DVDs.

“Shouldn’t you be hosting your own party?”

Throwing a hand over his heart, Roman let out a breath. “Jeez, Lo, warn a guy.”

“Apologies.” Crossing the room, Logan sat next to Roman. “What are you doing?”

“I just needed a little quiet. Everyone knows that the theater is off limits.” Logan opened his mouth to apologize, but Roman shook his head. “You’re fine, you didn’t know. And you’re not a people, so -”

“I am a person.” Logan had no idea what Roman was talking about.

Laughter spilled from Roman, making Logan’s heart flutter. “I just meant…when you’re an introvert or an ambivert, like me, being around people drains you. You don’t do that. It’s meant to be a compliment.”

“Well, in that case, you can be extra. But you’re also not a person.”

More laughter came from Roman. “You know, I really need to teach you more slang. Maybe we should put some in our play.”

“I guarantee if Shakespeare was alive today he would use endless amounts of slang.” Logan’s lips twitched into a smile. “‘Get thee to a nunnery, thot.’”

There was a moment of silence before the two of them burst out laughing. Tears dripped down Logan’s face.

“Oh, we’re so using slang.” Roman managed to say, holding his sides. He breathed slowly, trying to calm down. After a moment, he sighed. “We should really get back upstairs.”

He grabbed some DVDs, moving them back onto the shelf.

“Let me help.”

Fate was a cruel mistress. Logan reached out, going for the same movie as Roman. Their fingers brushed together. A zing ran up his arm and he yanked his hand away. Roman gave him an amused smile. The movies made a thunk as he put them on the shelf.

Dusting off his pants, Roman got to his feet. He offered a hand to Logan. “Unless you’re too afraid of our electricity.”

“I’m sure I just shuffled my feet on the carpeting.” Taking Roman’s hand, and trying not to get goosebumps from the feeling, Logan got to his feet.

Unfortunately, or was it fortunately, Roman tugged as Logan moved. The shorter boy found himself crashing into Roman’s chest.

“Sorry.”

Heat bloomed in Logan’s cheeks as he stepped back. “It’s fine.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

“Actually, I meant to find you so I could say goodbye.” Logan admitted as they headed up the stairs. “I was going to head home. I’ve got other homework to -”

“No need to explain.” Roman said, opening the door. “I get it, parties aren’t your thing. I am glad you decided to come though. And you - you look nice.”

Blood rushed to Logan’s cheeks. “Thank you. So do you.”

Roman took a step forward, making Logan suck in a breath. There was a click as the door closed behind him. “So, see you Monday?”

“Monday. Yeah. Monday is good.”

Roman’s eyes darted to Logan’s cheek. He reached out, brushing a finger against the soft skin. Logan couldn’t keep his eyes from half-closing.

“Make a wish.” An eyelash sat on Roman’s finger.

_Please let me do something about these feelings._

Logan blew out, sending the eyelash into the air.

“Bye, Logan.”

“See you.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none

It was a shock that Logan was able to finish his homework that weekend.

Every time he sat down to write his essay or do a set of problems, Roman would pop into his mind. Whether it be Roman in his party wear or...much less, he couldn’t seem to shake the thoughts of the baseball player.

The fact that his dads knew exactly what was going on didn’t help matters in the slightest. Preston would come right out and ask him questions about his ‘boyfriend’, while Thomas was more subtle, opting to send him smirks and knowing looks instead.

When Monday rolled around, Logan found himself at school half an hour early.

Unsure where to go, he headed for the art room. Perhaps Virgil would have some insight. He did seem to know what was going on, despite Logan not saying a word out loud.

As he neared the paint splattered door, a giggle spilled out of the room. Logan peered in, lips twitching into a smile at the scene.

Virgil was painting, which wasn’t unusual in the slightest. The strange part was that Patton was sitting on the table next to him, wiping a smear of paint off of Virgil’s forehead. The two of them were blushing as they looked at each other, sending a pang into Logan’s heart.

Without a word, he left, heading to Mx. Stokes classroom instead.

“Logan, what brings you here so early?” They asked, looking shocked to see any of their students long before the bell rang.

Grabbing his notebook, Logan shrugged. “Just...needed to get out of the house I guess.”

Mx. Stokes gave him a nod before writing the lesson plan up on the whiteboard. “If you need any help with anything, now would be a good time.”

“Oh, we’re perfectly fine with the project.” Logan glanced over their script, smiling as he remembered the various times he and Roman had spent writing it. When he felt the blush creeping up his cheeks, he did his best to hide it. “It’s going much better than expected.”

“You’re not at each other’s throats?” They teased, the look on their face matching the look Thomas had given Logan at home.

Logan’s blush deeped at the look. Even his teacher knew what was going on. “We’re being civil.”

A glimmer passed through Mx. Stokes’s eye before they sat at their desk and started grading some papers. “Like I said Logan - I can help you with anything.”

Three seconds.

Three seconds was as long as Logan lasted before the whole story came spilling out.

“...and then he wiped an eyelash off my cheek and asked me to make a wish. He’s just…”

“Practically perfect in every way?” Mx. Stokes supplied with a laugh.

“Yes!” Logan buried his face in his hands. “If he hadn’t gotten mixed up with the baseball team...well…”

“And you think he doesn’t want to be on the team?” Mx. Stokes rolled their chair over to Logan’s desk.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

There was a beat of silence before they sighed. “You’re not going to like my advice.”

Logan peeked out from between his fingers. “I’ll take anything at this point.”

“I think you should talk to him. Let him know what you’ve picked up on and see if you’re right.” They gently pulled Logan’s arms down and looked him in the eye. “And you should either ask him out or tell him how you feel.”

“What?!” Eyes as wide as saucers, Logan began to stammer. “Why would I...I mean, I don’t know how…”

A few students walked through the door, not batting an eye at seeing Mx. Stokes talking to Logan. They took their seats before returning to their conversation, increasing the noise level of the quiet classroom tenfold.

“You’ll figure it out.”

As Mx. Stokes rolled back to their desk, a voice behind Logan made his heart stop.

“Figure what out?”

Thinking fast, Logan snagged the first thought that came into his mind. “Um, costuming! It would put us one step above the other students.”

“That sounds fun! Since we’re doing a more modern day setting, what do you think the prince should wear? We could make it more literal and use a shirt with a crown on it, I have one that my parents bought me as a joke for Christmas.”

Logan relaxed as Roman continued to ramble his thoughts. He didn’t appear to suspect a thing.

A squeal over the loudspeaker had everyone covering their ears. Principal Torres quickly apologized before diving into the morning announcements.

“Good morning everyone. Just a reminder that the staff parking lot is strictly for the staff only. Any students found parking there will be asked to move at their earliest convenience.”

There was a shuffling sound before she spoke again, her tone much happier.

“And now, what you’re all waiting for. Homecoming is just a month away. Our theme this year is At The Movies. The dress up days will be posted the week prior, but you can all start working on the designs for your class floats as soon as you’d like. That’s all I have for today.”

Logan glanced up, making eye contact with Mx. Stokes, who simply raised their eyebrow.

The blood drained from Logan’s face as he realized what they were insinuating.

_How on Earth was he supposed to ask Roman to Homecoming?_


	6. Chapter 6

Logan’s salvation came in the form he least expected.

He’d been sitting alone at lunch, wracking his brain for some sort of idea, when he heard a voice that made him groan.

“Hey gurl! Why are you over here all by yourself?”

“I’m thinking.” His reply may have been curt, but he couldn’t think of anything with Remy jabbering on about the latest…what did his peers call it? Tea?

Surprisingly, Remy sat down across from him. He waved off his posse, telling them to go sit somewhere else. “Can I help?”

Logan considered his options. He could either sit here and likely not come up with an idea or he could get some advice from someone much more experienced than he was.

Swallowing his pride, he chose the latter.

“I want to ask someone to Homecoming, but I have no clue how to do it.”

The smirk that crossed Remy’s face almost had Logan getting up and leaving the lunchroom. “Aww, I didn’t know you had a crush? Who is it?”

“Why would I tell you?” Logan asked.

“Why not?” The simple raise of Logan’s brow answered the question. “Fine, fine. Don’t tell. But I can give you a list of ideas and you can choose. And then when you finally ask this mystery guy, I’ll hear about it.”

“How do you know it’s a male?”

Remy laughed, pretending to wipe tears from his eyes. “Oooh, that’s a good one. You’re as straight as a rainbow slinky, my friend.”

The word  _friend_ rang out in Logan’s mind, but he opted not to comment. “So, this list…how complicated is it?”

“I’ll let you find out.” Sliding over the table, and getting a stern look from the lunch monitor, Remy pulled out his phone and opened up his notes. “Alright, so we have: asking over the announcements - which probably isn’t your speed, making him cupcakes - though you don’t seem like a baker, making a poster, doing a scavenger hunt…”

The rest of lunch seemed to fly by as Remy rattled off a rather long list of ideas. When they finally reached the end, Logan had accepted the fact that he was doomed to public humiliation when Roman denied him.

Maybe he shouldn’t ask at all.

“Did you find one you like?” Remy asked as he put his phone away. “Otherwise I can find more.”

“Why do you even have that list?” Deflecting was easy with Remy.

Blood rushed to Remy’s cheeks. “I, um…no reason really. I was scrolling through Pinterest and found one, which turned into a bunch more. Fell down the rabbit hole, you know.”

“Rem!” Emile Picani bounced over, sitting down next to the gossip. “I need your help with our AP Psych project tonight! If you’re not busy.”

“Nope! No plans.”

A blinding smile spread across Emile’s face, one only rivalled by Patton. “Awesome! Hey, what are you guys looking at?”

Logan sighed, knowing that if Remy knew about the plans, he’d likely tell his neighbor. “I wish to ask someone to Homecoming. Remy has compiled a list of various ways to do so.”

Emile looked over Remy’s shoulder. The gossip leaned back slightly, before blinking and sitting up straight.

“Rem, these don’t even fit Logan’s style!” Emile nudged his shoulder. “They’re all you.”

“Come on, everyone loves dramatics!”

Shaking his head, Emile turned to Logan. “Do something heartfelt, something that he’ll be able to tell is from you.”

Logan groaned, dropping his face into his hands. “Why is this so hard?”

“Oh, there’s a few things that are -” Remy started, cutting himself off immediately. “Nevermind.”

“You’ll figure it out.” Emile patted Logan’s shoulder. “See you tonight, Rem!”

He darted off, Remy’s eyes following him all the way to the door.

“I should be going now.” The words tumbled out of Remy’s mouth as he hastily stood. “People to see, tea to spill. Later bitch!”

Logan finished his lunch alone, mind whirling on how he should ask Roman. Remy’s list had a lot of excellent ideas, but Emile was right. They weren’t exactly his style. But did that matter? Shouldn’t he do something Roman would like?

The rest of the day, he was unable to focus on any of his classes. He snarked back at the teachers more than usual, nearly earning himself a suspension.

By the time he got to study hall, he still had zero ideas on what to do.

“Woah, you look like you had a rough day.”

Logan crossed his arms and laid his head on the table, refusing to make eye contact.

Virgil poked his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sure you already know.”

“Oooh, you’re going to ask him to Homecoming?” The smirk in Virgil’s voice was infuriating.

Logan tilted his head just enough to see the teasing glint in Virgil’s eyes. “I don’t know how. Remy gave me a list and Emile told me to do something from the heart. I just…should I do something I want to do or something that R - something he would like?”

“Both.” Was the simple reply.

“What?”

A soft blush started to form on Virgil’s face. “When I asked Patton -”

“You did?”

Virgil nodded. “Yeah, this morning. I finished a painting while he watched. Before he got there I wrote ‘I promise I won’t be a paint in the butt. Homecoming?’ on the back. When I showed him, he squealed and nearly knocked me over.”

“That’s…too precious to process.” Logan laughed as Virgil rolled his eyes. “Thank you. For the advice. I think I have an idea. And good luck with your relationship.”

“What?!” Virgil squeaked. “We’re not - I mean, I wouldn’t not want…I’m too gay for this.”

Logan opted to quit teasing Virgil before he exploded. Instead, he pulled out his homework, managing to focus just long enough to get a few things done.

As soon as he got home, he grabbed his laptop and jumped into bed.

**Google search: Iambic pentameter**


	7. Chapter 7

It took Logan nearly a week to write a simple poem.

A poem bearing most of his feelings, but still. He was top of the class, a poem shouldn’t have taken him a week.

Both of his dads had offered up their help, but Logan insisted that it was something he had to do himself. Thomas had ruffled his hair, wishing him luck. Preston had simply given him a wink, telling him not to include too much symbolism.

That comment may have been why he’d revised it midweek.

Either way, it wasn’t until Monday that he got the opportunity to give it to Roman.

It was supposed to be simple. Give Roman the poem, watch him read it, and hope to god that Roman would let him down gently.

Logan was at his locker, going over the plan in his head, when a hand clapped him on the shoulder. He jumped about three feet, nearly knocking his head on the door.

“Woah, Sherlock, are you alright?” Roman asked, helping Logan up from the floor.

Blood rushed to Logan’s face as he slid his hand into his pocket, making sure the paper was still there. “I’m fine.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” Roman brushed Logan’s bangs to the side, making him freeze up. “I thought you heard me coming. Didn’t you mention something about my ‘walking like an elephant’ the other day?”

Logan’s blush deepened. He grabbed his things out of his locker and swung the door shut. “That was a mere exaggeration.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

Sucking in a deep breath, Logan turned to face him. “I’m just nervous.”

“You? Nervous?” Roman teased, his smile falling when Logan’s expression didn’t change. “Why are you nervous?”

The paper was starting to burn a hole in his pocket. “I -”

The warning bell rang, making Logan swear. Roman looked impressed at the colorful language as they darted toward the English room.

Mx. Stokes kept them busy the whole hour. As soon as class was over, Roman ran out to get to his next class on time.

Logan wanted to scream.

The day went by agonizingly slowly. The only class Logan shared with Roman was English. He wouldn’t have another chance to give him the note until after school.

And if things went badly, he really didn’t want to have to work on the project after that.

Lunch rolled around, which came with both Remy and Emile.

“Did you ask him yet?” Emile asked, keeping his voice down.

Logan shot Remy a look. “If I say anything, it doesn’t make it to the rumor mill. Got it?”

“Got it.”

Logan pulled out the poem, smoothing it out in front of him. “I haven’t. Yet.”

“Can I read it?” Emile stretched his hand halfway across the table.

Yanking the paper back, Logan shook his head. “It’s personal.”

“Good.” Emile shot him a smile. “Personal is good. It means you listen to him and know what he likes! Like…Remy here doesn’t like cake, but he loves brownies.”

A gasp came from the gossip. “Brownies are chocolatey goodness! Cake dries out way too fast!”

The rest of lunch seemed to fly by as Logan watched the two interact. They teased each other like siblings, but he got the feeling there was something more. It distracted him from his own issues.

Issues that were brought up again in study hall.

“Did you ask him yet?”

Logan flushed, shaking his head. “No. I chickened out this morning and I don’t know if I want to ask him after school because we have to work on the project and -”

“Woah. Breathe for me, yeah?” Virgil tapped his fingers in a 4-7-8 pattern. He didn’t speak again until Logan was calmed down. “You don’t have to ask him today.”

“The longer I wait, the more likely it is that someone else will ask him.” Pulling the poem out of his pocket, he skimmed it once more. “How do I even know he’ll like this?”

“Because you put your heart into it.”

Carefully folding it up once more, Logan put the paper away. “I don’t have anything to do.”

“If you want a distraction, I really need help with Pre-Calc.”

The two of them worked well together. Both of them tended to lean more toward left-brained thinking, which lead to Logan explaining everything in a way that Virgil understood.

“Thanks, Teach.” Virgil joked as the bell rang. “You know, you should really think about becoming a tutor or something. It’s nice to have someone who doesn’t get mad when you don’t understand the material.”

“I’m happy to help you any time, Virgil.”

“Good.” Grabbing Logan’s arm, Virgil dragged him out the door. “Now I’m going to help you.”

“What?”

They headed through the doors, Logan’s eyes widening as Virgil dragged him over to Roman.

The jock raised an eyebrow as they stopped in front of him. “What’s going on?”

“Logan needs to talk to you.” With that sentence, Virgil left.

Leaving Logan by himself.

“What did you need to talk about?” Roman asked as they started walking.

Putting his hand in his pocket, Logan brushed the poem. His heart started to pound. “I…um…”

“Is Toby bullying someone again? I can try to make him stop, but -”

“No!” Logan blurted out, flushing when Roman stopped and looked down at him. “That’s - I mean he probably is, I just haven’t…that’s not what -”

A hand on Logan’s shoulder stopped the rambling. “Logan, I know we’ve had our…differences. Mostly due to stupid high school stereotypes. But I’d like to think that we’re friends now. You can talk to me.”

“I wanted to know if you’d help me do some makeup. For the project.”

As soon as the words were out of Logan’s mouth, he wanted to slap himself. Way to chicken out. Again.

“Oh!” A gorgeous blush spread across Roman’s face. “I - yeah. I didn’t realize you noticed that I even wore it. It’s subtle. The guys on the team…they don’t get it.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “Personally, when men wear makeup or skirts or other traditionally ‘girly’ things, I think it makes them brave. They’re comfortable in their own masculinity to try new things. It’s a refreshing change of pace honestly.”

“Forgive me if this hits a nerve, but why haven’t you ever worn anything like that?”

Logan blinked. “I…I don’t know. I guess I just never really thought about it.”

As they walked into Logan’s house, the conversation moved to their project. They worked on it for a few hours before Roman had to leave for dinner.

Logan walked him to the door, sliding the poem out of his pocket.

It was now or never.

“This project is turning out great!” Roman stepped into Logan’s space, arms open. He hesitated and Logan could see the question in his eyes.

He stepped forward, eyes fluttering shut as Roman’s strong arms wrapped around him. The smell of something…warm filled his nostrils. He didn’t have a clue what it was. And even though it didn’t make sense and he couldn’t explain it - Roman just smelled safe.

He could’ve stayed in Roman’s arms forever.

Unfortunately, Roman pulled back, giving him a beaming smile. “See you tomorrow!”

Once the door had clicked shut, Logan headed to the couch, packing up their things. He slid it all into his backpack, putting the note into one of his folders.

Now or never had simply turned into just…never.


	8. Chapter 8

Before Logan could blink, Homecoming week had arrived. He sat at the breakfast table, a little bleary eyed from sleep, picking at his eggs.

“Logan?” Thomas sat across from his son. “You okay?”

Logan bit his tongue, knowing that he had to come up with an excuse unrelated to Roman. “I’m fine. I’m just…debating whether or not I want to dress up today. The theme is a bit ridiculous.”

“What is it?”

Rolling his eyes, Logan said, “Onesie day. Something about being comfortable during a movie marathon.”

“Don’t you own a onesie?” Thomas asked. Preston walked into the room, kissing Thomas on the cheek. Thomas gave him a smile before continuing. “In fact, wasn’t it a gift from the two of us?”

Blood rushed to Logan’s cheeks. “Yes, but…it’s not proper attire for school.”

“It is this week. And besides, don’t you get points for dressing up? The more people that dress up, the more likely your chance of being the winning class at the pep rally, right?”

Appealing to Logan’s competitive streak won out. He shoveled the rest of his food into his mouth before racing up the stairs to get dressed. The points had completely slipped his mind, and he’d be damned if he didn’t help his class win.

It only took a few moments for him to slip on the onesie. The hood was left off, knowing that some teachers would still consider it a “hat” and make him take it off anyway.

“Lo? Ready to go?” Thomas called out, before laughing at his rhyme.

Grabbing his backpack, Logan headed down the stairs and to the car. The short drive to the school was relatively silent, filled only with the various pop songs taking over the radio.

Logan’s nerves buzzed as they pulled up to the school. It would be humiliating if he’d gotten the day wrong.

Shaking his head, he cleared those thoughts. His Google calendar was linked to the school calendar. It would be almost impossible for him to get the date wrong.

“Love you!” Thomas said as Logan got out of the car.

“Love you too.”

Walking quickly, Logan headed to Mx. Stokes’ class. Hardly anyone gave him a second glance, other than a few friendly kids who merely waved at him as they headed past.

As he walked into the classroom, he was slightly shocked to see Roman sitting at his desk, dressed in a lion onesie. From what he’d heard, the so-called popular kids usually didn’t participate in that kind of thing.

He supposed that was what he got for listening to rumors.

Roman’s face lit up in a blinding smile as his eyes landed on Logan. “I didn’t think you would be one to participate in this, nerd.”

It was strange how a nickname that had once filled him with rage was now endearing.

“I assumed you didn’t have a onesie in your fashion sense.”

Laughter bubbled out of Roman, the sound making Logan blush ever so slightly. Damn his stupid crush.

The bell rang and Mx. Stokes got out of their chair. They were wearing a Pikachu onesie.

“All right, let’s get you guys counted up. Freshman who are dressed up, please raise your hand. And only if you’re dressed up, I swear I’ll subtract points if you aren’t.”

The threat was an empty one, but it worked nonetheless. They quickly worked their way up the classes, nodding to Logan and Roman as they counted them.

“I do like your onesie though.” Roman whispered as Mx. Stokes continued counting. “Unicorns are awesome.”

“You like unicorns?”

Roman nodded. “If I had my way, I’d live in a fantasy world. Ideally, I’d be a prince and do the saving, but I wouldn’t mind  _being_ saved every once in a while.”

Logan couldn’t help but stare at that adorable shy smile on Roman’s face. His heart pounded in his chest, reminding him just how gay he was for this man.

“Alright, I know we’ve done quite a bit so far and the test is on Wednesday. So how about a review game?”

The whole class cheered as the familiar tune to Jeopardy filled the room.

As soon as lunch rolled around, Logan found himself at a table with Remy and Emile again. It was starting to become a regular thing.

“Ohhhh, your onesie is so cute!” Emile squealed as he spotted Logan. He then threw his hood up and gave a little twirl, showing off his Totoro onesie.

Remy wasn’t far behind him. The man’s eyes raked over Emile as he spun. And while Emile may have been oblivious, Logan was not. He shot Remy a look, making him flush pink.

“How come you’re not dressed up?” Logan asked as they began to eat.

Remy sipped on his drink before giving an answer. “I’m not really into the whole ‘dressing up’ thing.”

“But you love Halloween!” Emile protested. “How is this different?”

“He does have a point, Remy.” Logan sat up a little straighter. “Besides, the whole point of the dress up week is school pride. It’s meant to bring everyone together as a unit.”

“And it’s fun!”

Logan could see Remy’s walls crumbling down. It took a few more seconds of Logan’s staring and Emile’s puppy dog eyes before they broke completely.

“All right, fine. What’s tomorrow’s day?”

Grabbing his planner, Logan flipped it open. “It looks like tomorrow is Red Carpet day.”

Instantly, mischief filled Remy’s eyes. He flipped his sunglasses back down. “I can definitely work with that.”

“Don’t do something that’ll get you in trouble.”

Emile’s comment got a wounded look from Remy. “Trouble? Whatever do you mean?”

Remy’s mischievous idea came to light the next day, when he came to the lunch table wearing what could be called a little black dress, complete with fishnet tights and studded heels.

“How are you even walking in those?” Logan asked, somewhat impressed.

Remy winked at him. “Practice, babe-uh, Logan.”

“I can’t believe that you haven’t gotten detention for that yet.” Emile said as he sat down, dusting off his white suit. “And Lo, you look really handsome today!”

Logan tugged at his black bowtie, which went perfectly with his three-piece navy suit. “Thank you, Emile. Though you might want to tell Remy how nice he looks before he gets too jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!”

The next day, Logan couldn’t help but smile as Remy and Emile came to the table as a Ruby and Sapphire for Cartoon Day. Remy was much more subdued than normal, while Emile was more than ecstatic.

“You’re happy today.”

Emile nodded, bouncing up and down. “Remy asked me to Homecoming last night!”

As Emile babbled on about how Remy had done it, something to do with cartoons, Logan couldn’t help but smile.

If Remy could do it and Virgil could do it, why couldn’t he? Perhaps he could give Roman the note at the football game.

“That’s a great idea!” Emile said, an encouraging smile on his face.

Logan paled. “I-I said that out loud?”

“Yeah, you did. Though maybe you should do that around Roman, you’d probably ask him then.”

“Remy!”

“What, I’m just teasing him, babe.”

Emile’s face flushed at the nickname. “You should definitely ask him though. I heard him turning down Steve the other day.”

Logan relayed this information to Virgil in study hall, his thoughts not as positive as they once were. “Perhaps he wants to go alone.”

“He doesn’t. Trust me.” Virgil tugged on his sweater sleeves. “He might be loud and a little pretentious, but it’s all an act. On the inside, he’s insecure and he wants someone to talk to about the things he can’t.”

“How do you know this?”

Virgil gestured to himself. “This whole loner emo persona is the same thing.”

“Virgil -”

“It’s fine, I’ve got people now. I don’t…I don’t feel as lonely as I used to.” A smile wormed its way onto Virgil’s face. “It helps when your boyf- when your date threatens to fight you if you talk bad about yourself.”

Favorite character day was mostly uneventful, with Logan getting a lot of compliments on his stunning cosplay of Connor from Detroit: Become Human. Logan had really played up the whole robot persona, making Virgil crack up in study hall.

“Forgive me for asking, but which character is this?” Logan gestured to Virgil’s outfit.

“Oh, I’m JD.” Virgil said, flipping the collar of his coat. “It’s from Heathers, which is both a movie and a musical, so I get if you haven’t seen it. His character is actually terrible, but it fits my aesthetic. But I bet you  _Roman_ has seen it.”

Logan couldn’t have stopped his blush if he tried. “I’m not going to watch it just because Roman may or may not have seen it.”

“Sure.” Virgil teased, nudging Logan’s shoulder. “Did you figure out when you’re going to ask him?”

“I don’t know.”

Before Logan could panic, Virgil laid a hand on his arm. “Relax, Lo. You’ve got this. Maybe try after the pep rally tomorrow?”

“Yeah. That’s a good idea.”

The bell rang, leaving Logan more nervous than ever.


	9. Chapter 9

Logan woke up before his alarm went off, deciding to just get up and shower. He’d gotten fitful sleep anyway and knew that even trying to get a few more minutes would be futile.

Knowing that today was School Color day, he examined his closet for longer than usual. There wasn’t much he owned that was red, other than a pair of jeans he’d gotten as a gift from Preston.

With a sigh, he put them on. They were tighter than what he normally wore, but that was the price he was going to pay for school spirit.

He threw on a white button up before grabbing some red and white sneakers that had  _ also _ been a gift.

_ Convenient. _

As soon as Preston and Thomas saw him, they broke out into grins.

“I knew you’d wear those someday.” Preston gestured to the jeans. “It wouldn’t kill you to show off that Sanders ass more often.”

“Dad!”

“Preston.”

“What? It’s part of the reason I fell for you.”

Thomas rolled his eyes as Preston pressed a kiss to his cheek. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“Love you too, Tommy.”

“Lo, you want Crofter’s on your - why am I even asking.” Thomas nodded to the fridge, taking the jar of jam from Preston.

Logan took the jar from Thomas. “Thank you, but I’ll make my own breakfast.”

“Is this because I don’t put enough jam on your toast?” Thomas teased.

Logan pretended not to hear him as he prepared his breakfast before heading out to the car.

As soon as Logan stepped foot on school grounds, he couldn’t help but smile. Nearly everyone in the vicinity was covered in red and white. Glancing around, Logan saw Virgil and Patton heading into the school. Virgil had swapped out his usual hoodie for a red one and his black jeans for white. Patton had on one of the male cheer uniforms, a large G emblazoned on the chest.

After dumping his books at his locker, Logan headed straight for his English class.

And proceeded to short circuit in the doorway.

_ How could he have forgotten that the sports teams wore their uniforms on Spirit Day? _

The jersey Roman wore showed off the muscles in his arms. His pants were rolled to the knee, showing off one red sock and one white one. The socks clung to his calf muscles, no doubt gained from his many games of catching.

The two of them locked eyes as Logan managed to start moving again. Roman had smeared what appeared to be red and white paint under his eyes.

“Logan! Perfect, sit down.”

Doing as he was told, Logan froze as Roman reached out and started smearing some of the paint under his own eyes. The gentle touch was making his heart race.

“What -”

“Relax, Lo. It’s meant for your face, it’s called warrior paint.” Roman leaned in close, his breath fanning across Logan’s cheek as he observed his work.

_ Closing the gap here would not be beneficial. _

“Alright, I know we’re not going to get much done today, so I’ll just give you a free period to work on your projects, even though I know most of you will just talk anyway.” Mx. Stokes said, before they pulled out a box. “And if anyone wants some beads to complete their school spirit look, have at it.”

Roman practically vaulted over the desks to get to the box, grabbing four sets of beads. When he came back, he draped two of them over Logan.

“Now you look like you have school spirit.” He flashed Logan a smile.

Blood rushed to Logan’s cheeks. “So...were you going to talk to anyone or did you want to work on our project?”

“Actually I drew up some ideas for costumes!”

Logan barely noticed how fast the class went by, content to listen to Roman excitedly babble about the costume ideas and their symbolism. When the bell rang, Logan jumped out of his seat, making Roman laugh.

“See you at the pep rally!” Roman called before he darted off to his next class.

The day went by in a blur, Logan opting to simply do homework instead of chat with Virgil. His purple-haired classmate didn’t seem to mind, putting on some music instead.

A high pitched squeal crackled over the PA system. “Seniors may be excused and make their way down to the gym.”

A few of their classmates headed out, Logan and Virgil packing up their things. Everyone was required to leave their backpacks in their final class, and pick them up before going home.

Not more than five minutes later, the PA system squealed again. “Juniors may be excused.”

Virgil and Logan headed out together. As they walked in, Logan wasn’t sure where he was going to sit, but Virgil pulled him over to where Patton was sitting with Remy and Emile. He noticed Roman sit a couple rows ahead with the baseball team.

Logan wasn’t really listening as they went through the opening spiel of the pep rally. It was pretty much a rundown of all the scores so far - the seniors were winning - and the times of the game, the parade, and the dance. All stuff Logan had heard, since he actually paid a bit of attention to the school calendar.

What he  _ did _ notice was Roman and several other students getting up and moving down to a reserved portion of the bleachers.

“What’s going on?”

“Too busy staring, huh?” Remy asked from the end of the row, waggling his eyebrows.

Logan flushed, turning to Virgil instead.

“Dodgeball, just like every other year.”

“Ah,” Logan adjusted his glasses, watching as the freshman were unfairly pitted against the seniors. “My apologies, I usually sneak in a book and read at the top.”

“So you’re paying attention now because…” Virgil trailed off, a teasing grin on his face.

Patton poked him in the shoulder. “V, don’t be mean!”

“He’s not, you have my word.” Logan leaned forward to see around Virgil. “Congrats on the homecoming date though.”

“Thanks! Virge told me about your issue and I think if you have the guts to go for it, you should give him the letter.” A friendly smile graced Patton’s face.

Logan nodded, hearing the whistle to start the game. Everyone’s attention shifted, watching as the freshman were knocked out in a mere two minutes. Once they returned to their seats, the seniors sat down, watching the sophomores and juniors get into position.

Roman looked up into the stands, met Logan’s eyes, and flashed a grin. Logan’s heart pounded as he smiled back, but Roman had looked back to the game.

_ He was probably smiling at someone else. _

“Did you see that?” Patton whispered. “He smiled at you!”

“No, it wasn’t -”

Virgil held up a hand. “It was totally for you.”

Blood returned to Logan’s cheeks. The whistle blew once more and he watched as Roman nearly single-handedly took out the sophomores, assisted by one or two more teammates.

“Dang, he’s good.”

“He said sometimes he pitches.” Logan replied without thinking.

“How do you know that, Lo?”

Logan turned, face flaming as he got various degrees of smirks from his friends. “He may have stayed for dinner a few times because of our project.”

Patton and Emile both clapped their hands over their mouths to suppress their squealing. Remy’s smirk vanished as he gave Emile a loving gaze, but Virgil kept his eyes on Logan.

“Dude. He at least likes you as a friend, or he would never have stayed.”

A sharp blow of the whistle had them turning back to the floor. At some point, the seniors had set up where the sophomores had vacated. The two teams were now going after each other with a vengeance. The seniors to defend their title, and the juniors to finally shove them out of the number one spot.

It came down to Roman and a senior named Steve. He was a linebacker on the football team, and built like a brick.

Steve fired a ball at Roman.

The crowd gasped as it popped out of Roman’s hands.

Roman dove for it, barely catching it before it hit the ground.

The juniors went nuts, cheering wildly. Steve headed back to the football team, high-fiving along the way.

Roman ran back into the crowd, breathing heavily. Again, he shot a grin to where Logan was sitting.

Logan buried his face in his hands as soon as Roman looked away.

“Ah, yes. The gay meltdown.”

“Remy!”

A squeal from the microphone had all of the students covering their ears. Principal Torres apologized before announcing the next part of the competition.

Solving a Rubik’s cube.

Logan’s name was called for the juniors. He headed down with four other students, clearly picked because they were the smartest kids in the class.

Smart didn’t always equate to puzzle solving.

“The first one to solve the cube will win one hundred points for their class. The second wins fifty, and the third twenty-five. Each of you will be timed by a randomly selected teacher. Any questions?” She stopped, watching as they all shook their heads. “Three, two, one, GO!”

Logan moved like lightning, blocking everything else out of his head.

“Done!”

He smirked when he realized he was the first to finish by a long shot. The teacher across from him showed his time.

Forty-five seconds.

As soon as two others had finished, the freshman and the senior, they were excused back to their seats.

“Nice job, Lo!” Patton gave him a beaming smile as he sat back down.

Virgil nodded. “I’m pretty sure we’re tied with the seniors now.”

Logan hardly paid attention to the rest of the pep rally, only noticing that the next events were one bounce and tug of war. The seniors must’ve been angry about losing, seeing as how they lost both events.

Which meant…

“In first place this year is our Juniors, with 1,340 points!”

The junior class went wild, cheering and screaming. Principal Torres quickly quieted everyone down, gave a rundown of the parade and game times for later that night, and then excused everyone.

Logan traced the paper in his pocket as he darted down the steps, trying to reach Roman. He’d give him the note and Roman could text him his answer.

The universe must’ve hated him, because Roman was swept away by his friends before Logan even made it to the gym floor.

A hand on his shoulder had him turning around. Emile and Patton were looking at him with twin expressions of sadness, while Remy looked a little peeved. Virgil squeezed his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Lo. You could always give it to him at the game?”

Logan shook his head. “It’s too late anyway. I can’t even get a ticket now.”

“Actually…” Emile pulled a ticket out of his pocket. “I have an extra. I bought one before Rem asked me.”

Logan took it. “Thank you, but I don’t have anyone to go with.”

“Come with us!” Patton bounced on his toes. “We’re all going together and then having a sleepover at Remy’s house!”

Seeing Logan’s expression, Virgil added, “Or we can drop you back off at your place. And you don’t have to come with us, it’s just an option.”

“I...I think I’d like that.” Logan felt a sudden warmth in his chest. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Friendly/parental teasing

Logan’s phone was blown up with texts the next morning from his friends. He was surprised at the volume of messages, though not at who had sent the most.

**Patton: Hey Lo! We went to the game, I thought I’d give you updates!**

**Patton: Roman’s here :D**

**Remy: Ur boi asked if u were coming ;)**

**Patton: Roman asked about you!**

**V: Roman asked Pat if you were going to show up.**

**Patton: The halftime show was so good! Em recorded it if you want to see it later!**

**Patton: We won!**

**Patton: Oh about tomorrow, you can come over for dinner if you want! I’m at 249 Lily Lane! We’re having pizza at 5!**

**Patton: If you don’t want dinner that’s fine too! We’re meeting here at 6:30 to head over to the school.**

**Patton: Unless you want to meet us there!**

Logan lifted his phone off the wireless charger and typed a response back.

**Logan: I wouldn’t mind having dinner. I’ll see you at 5.**

While waiting for a response, Logan scrolled through the pictures on his phone, smiling when he realized Virgil must’ve snuck it out of his pocket when he headed down to do the Rubik’s Cube. There was a picture of the four of them, making various faces at the camera.

Scrolling back further, Logan nearly choked on air as the picture of Roman came up. His cheeks flushed as he quickly exited the app, leaning his head back.

“It had to be him.”

Re-entering the app, his finger hovered over the ‘make wallpaper’ button. He could just make it his home screen.

But if someone saw…

Before he could think about what he was doing, he deleted the picture. Out of sight, out of mind.

_ Ding! _

**Patton: Ok! Can’t wait!**

After getting ready for the day, Logan slicked his wet hair back and got down to business. He’d put off his homework last night, opting to watch a movie with his dads instead.

Not that it helped take a certain someone off his mind.

For the better part of the morning, Logan attempted to get something,  _ anything _ , done. But his thoughts continued to drift back to Roman over and over again.

_ Ding! _

Seeing the sender, Logan groaned. “Speak of the devil.”

**Prince Charming: Didnt see you at the game last night. I figured someone with a competitive streak like yours would want to see us win**

**Logan: There was no guarantee we would win**

**Prince Charming: Come on we have the best football team in the region. And the best baseball team too ;)**

**Prince Charming: You going to the dance tonight?**

**Logan: Yeah, I’m going with Virgil, Pat, Em, and Remy**

**Prince Charming: Damn, four dates?**

Logan let out a laugh, feeling the heat in his cheeks. This time it felt pleasant.

**Logan: No date, actually. Just friends**

**Prince Charming: Same here. Are you gonna wear your usual getup?**

**Logan: Something a bit more formal**

The dots appeared and disappeared on Roman’s end. After nearly five minutes, a picture came through.

**Prince Charming: Tfw you have a fashion sense**

Roman was wearing a white button down, but it fit him extremely well. He’d hastily thrown on the vest, seeing that it wasn’t buttoned, but Logan wasn’t going to complain. His eyes raked over the photo, heart pounding in his chest.

**Prince Charming: Havent done my hair yet, but Im getting there**

**Logan: You look nice. See you tonight.**

Picking up a pillow, Logan screamed into it.

There was only one person who could help him right now. Well, a few, but only one he trusted enough.

**Logan: Help me I’m having a gay meltdown**

**V: Be right over**

While waiting for Virgil, Logan paced in his room. There was a knock on the door a minute later, and Thomas poked his head in.

“Logan? Everything alright?” He asked, a genuine look of worry on his face. “I can hear you walking a rut in the carpet.”

Plastering a fake smile on his face, Logan nodded. “I’m good! Um, Virgil is coming over, I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine. Let me or Preston know if you need anything.”

“Will do!”

Not more than ten minutes later, Virgil walked into Logan’s room to find him lying facedown on the bed.

“Jeez, I know gay panic, but this is a full blown meltdown.”

Logan barely lifted his head. “Roman sent me a picture.”

Virgil quirked an eyebrow. “Did you send one back?”

“Not this time.”

“Woah, hold on.” Virgil held up his hands, a grin forming. “This time?”

Logan dropped his head back into his pillow.

“Alright, alright, I’m done teasing. For now.” Crossing the room, Virgil tugged Logan to his feet. “I assume you have an outfit for tonight.”

“I do own a formal outfit.”

“Lo. You know what I mean.”

Sighing, Logan opened up his closet door. “I don’t have one picked out.”

“I mean, you probably should’ve asked Remy for help with this,” Virgil started, heading into the closet and looking through the various dress clothes. “But I guess I’m the next best bet. Patton’s alright, but Em would probably suggest a skirt, which isn’t your comfort level. Stepping out of your comfort zone right now is not what you need.”

As Virgil spoke he began handing out clothes to Logan. By the time Virgil was done perusing, Logan had a pile of clothes in his arms, blocking his face from view.

“Set them on the bed.”

Over the next hour, Logan essentially put on a fashion show in his room. Virgil let him veto anything he didn’t like right off the bat, suggesting that he donate the things he would never wear.

“Marie Kondo your closet, Logan, it’ll help.”

By the time they narrowed down the pile, it was nearly four o’clock. Logan had two outfits left on the bed, the rest either in a donate pile or put back in the closet.

“Which one?”

The smirk returned to Virgil’s face. “I’m being fully serious - ask Roman.”

Logan’s eyes widened. “What?! No, I can’t do that.”

“Dude, he sent you a picture. You have the right to send one back.” Virgil headed for Logan’s door. “I brought my stuff, I’m going to go get dressed. Pick an outfit before I get back, or I’m picking for you.”

With a two finger salute, Virgil was out the door, closing it behind him.

Throwing on the first outfit, Logan smoothed all the creases. He picked up his phone, taking a picture before he could chicken out. He did the same with the next outfit, sending both pictures to Roman without a second thought.

**Logan: Which one?**

There was an instant reply.

**Prince Charming: Go with the indigo shirt it brings out your eyes**

Holding back a smile, Logan switched into the indigo shirt, leaving on the black dress pants. Just as he was hanging up the other shirt, Virgil came back in.

“Did you pick?”

“Roman did.” Logan said, grinning as Virgil smiled.

“Great! We can head over to Pat’s early if you want.”

Preston drove them over, teasing Logan about his crush. Virgil wasn’t much better, though his teasing was a little more merciful.

“Thanks, Mr. Sanders!” Virgil called out as they headed up the driveway. Preston gave a quick honk before taking off.

Patton met them at the door, wearing a powder blue short sleeved button up. White flowers spiralled around the sleeves. “You’re here!”

“We are.”

“I’m just helping my mom out with a salad but you guys can sit.” He said, leading them into the living room. “I’ll be back in a second!”

Virgil tugged at his purple bow-tie as he sat on the edge of the couch.

“Virgil, are you alright?”

He took in a shaky breath. “Yeah...kinda...I don’t know.”

Scooting closer, Logan bumped their shoulders together. “Take a few deep breaths. If it has anything to do with Patton, it’ll be okay. Even without my glasses I can see that he’s smitten with you.”

Laughter spilled from Virgil as his cheeks grew pink. “Thanks Lo. You’re a great friend.”

Patton darted back into the room then, settling on Virgil’s lap. “So, Logan, do you think you’ll ask Roman to dance?”

“Um, I-I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Concern flooded Patton’s features. “Why not?”

“Pat, not everyone is as accepting as us.” Virgil mumbled, pressing a quick kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek. “With the entire school watching…”

“Oh, right.” Patton leaned back against Virgil’s chest, threading their fingers together over his stomach. “What if we invite him over for movie night?”

“I’m just trying to get through tonight first.” Logan gave the two of them a smile. “Honestly though, I’m glad you found each other.”

Blushing furiously, Virgil hid his face in Patton’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

The three of them talked for a bit, heading into the dining room when Patton’s mother called them in. The pizza disappeared into their bellies with ease, Mrs. Hart making a joke about growing boys.

As they helped with the dishes, Remy and Emile walked in. Emile had on a rose gold dress, Remy trailing behind him in dress pants and a crisp white button-up.

“Oh, don’t you look stunning!” Mrs. Hart said as she saw Emile’s dress. “I need some pictures.”

“Sure!” Emile chirped, dragging Remy over to the group.

“Patty-cake, you want to go first?”

Patton pulled a calmed down Virgil over, taking a few formal pictures. On their last one, he pressed his lips to Virgil’s cheek, making him turn ten shades of red.

When they finished, Emile pulled Remy over. None of their pictures had Remy looking at the camera. He simply couldn’t take his eyes off of Emile.

“Logan, did you want a few by yourself?” Mrs. Hart asked. “You don’t have to, we can move on to some group shots.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather do some group pictures.”

The five of them crowded into the shot. Remy leaned on Logan’s shoulder, making him scowl in the first picture. Virgil gave him bunny ears in the second one, getting a genuine laugh out of Logan. But Logan’s favorite had to be the final picture. All of them had their arms around each other and were grinning at the camera.

“I’ll be sure to print these out and you can all get a copy.” Mrs. Hart said, before grabbing her keys. “Now who’s ready for the dance?”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: bullying, kissing, implied making out

Mrs. Hart dropped them off, making sure the boys knew where to meet here when the dance was over. When she was satisfied, she drove off, giving them a wave as she disappeared down the road.

Giggling, Patton grabbed Virgil’s hand and lead the group to the end of the line. Logan wanted to trail behind the couples, but Remy and Emile walked on either side of him, refusing to let him walk alone.

“I can’t wait to see how they decorated!” Patton bounced in place, causing some people around him to smile at his enthusiasm.

Virgil nodded, his head bobbing up and down with Patton. “I’m surprised you didn’t help them out with that.”

“Oh I wanted to, but they said they had it all taken care of.”

Virgil exchanged a glance with Logan and Remy. “Maybe you can help out for Sadie Hawkins?”

“Oooh, that would be so fun!”

The line started to move and Logan could feel his palms start to sweat. Why was he even here? When a slow song came on he’d end up alone, just like he always did. Maybe he should just -

“Logan?”

Glancing up, he saw his friends waiting for him, allowing the line to move past them.

“You guys can go ahead.”

Virgil shook his head. “No. We’re staying with you.”

“Unless you really really want us to go.” Patton added.

Emile gave him a soft smile. “And I don’t think you really want to be alone.”

“No one does.” Remy finished.

Logan blinked back tears. He took in a deep breath, making sure his voice wouldn’t shake. “Okay. Let’s go.”

The five of them headed into the gym lobby. A red carpet was rolled out, ensuring that everyone who entered got a chance to walk on it. There was a photographer set up in the corner, currently taking endless photos of the cheer squad.

“I’m glad I’m not him.” Logan and Virgil said at the same time.

“Rem, can we get in line?” Emile asked, clutching Remy’s hand. “I want a real good picture of us.”

“Anyone else?” Remy asked, looking directly at Logan.

They shook their heads, smiling as Emile dragged Remy off to the end of the line.

“I never thought I’d see someone that could make ‘bad boy’ Remy look all mushy.” Virgil said, getting a laugh out of Patton and Logan.

The three of them gestured to Remy and Emile, letting them know they were heading inside. They walked onto the dance floor, making faces at the writhing mass of bodies in the center. Instead, they formed their own little group off to the side.

Patton showed Logan how to shimmy, noting how good he was at the move. Virgil showed him a few more random moves, making Patton laugh when he did the shopping cart. By the time they reached the robot, the three of them were smiling, laughing, and having a great time.

The music changed from the fast pace of the last three songs to a much slower song. Couples began to pair off, the near mosh pit in the center spreading out.

Logan noticed the look Patton and Virgil exchanged. Before either of them could say a word, he waved a hand. “Go, have fun. Be a couple.”

“But -”

“I’ll be fine. I’m just going to sit on the bleachers, the music will change back after this anyway.”

Virgil nodded, nervously leading Patton onto the dance floor. Patton reached up, wrapping his arms around Virgil’s neck. Virgil gently placed his hands on Patton’s waist. His face burned bright red as Patton stepped closer, reaching around to tighten Virgil’s arms.

Near the doorway, Logan caught sight of Remy and Emile dancing. The two of them were much closer than Patton and Virgil. He looked away as their noses brushed, knowing all too well where that was going.

There was a slight ache in his chest as he watched the various couples. He was genuinely happy for his friends, but a part of him wished he could experience the same emotions they were feeling.

The bleachers squeaked and he whipped around, watching Roman sit next to him.

“What are you -”

“It’s not fun to be alone when this happens,” Roman pointed to the dance floor. “I thought you’d like some company.”

“Everyone can see you.”

There was a brief flash of hurt in Roman’s eyes. “I don’t care. They know we’re f...project partners.”

Logan sighed. “Right. Partners.”

The two of them sat in silence as the song continued.

A silence that was quickly broken.

“Roman, what the fuck are you doing?”

The two of them turned, seeing Toby heading toward them. Roman slid off the bleachers, standing between him and Logan.

“I’m talking to Logan.”

Toby looked over Roman’s shoulder, glaring at Logan. “I can see that. Why? Is he your boyfriend now?”

Roman’s arms hung at his sides, but Logan watched his hands clench up into fists. “One, there’s nothing wrong with that anyway. Two, we’re just project partners. You’d know that if you’d pull your head out of your ass long enough to hear what anyone else says to you.”

A sneer formed on Toby’s face and he took a step forward. “If you’re just project partners, then you won’t mind me taking Logan for a walk.”

Logan barely heard the song change, only noticing that there was now a wall of people between him and his friends. Once Roman stepped aside, he was toast.

“No.”

Toby’s bushy eyebrows shot to his hairline. “No?”

“I’m done with you being a piece of shit to everyone else, Toby.” Roman moved, blocking Logan from Toby’s view. “Why can’t you just leave people alone?”

Instead of responding verbally, Toby threw a punch. Logan gasped as Toby’s fist connected to Roman’s cheek.

Toby threw more punches, but now that Roman was expecting them, he blocked them with a practised ease.

After a full song, a teacher finally noticed and ran over, breaking up the one-sided fight. Roman was dismissed immediately, the teacher pulling Toby over to the side.

“Are you okay?” Roman asked, reaching out to put a hand on Logan’s shoulder, but pulling back at the last second.

Logan’s heart was still beating fast. “Why didn’t you let him beat me up? We’re just partners.”

“Lo, that would make me the shittiest person alive.” Getting over himself, Roman put a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “And...I think neither of us believe that. We’ve hung out so much over the past month and a half, I think we can call each other friends now.”

Hoping the dark gym would hide his growing blush, Logan nodded. “Y-yeah. We’re friends.”

Roman smiled, his hand sliding down Logan’s arm before it dropped to his side. “You’re a much better friend than Toby anyway.”

“Logan!”

Turning, Logan saw his friends finally break through the crowd, running to his side. Virgil glanced at Roman, giving him a look.

“Are you alright? We could barely see what happened.” Emile asked, worry written all over their face. Patton nodded along with a matching expression.

“I’m fine. Um, Roman pretty much saved my ass.”

Remy opened his mouth to make a comment, shutting it immediately as Emile gently elbowed him in the side.

“Why would you do that?” Virgil’s tone was laced with venom. “I thought you two were just partners.”

“Actually, we just talked about that.” Roman’s eyes flicked over to Logan before he focused on Virgil. “We  _ are _ friends. I was just too caught up in Toby’s bullshit to realize that.”

Virgil snorted. “So, what, you’re just going to ditch Toby now?”

“Um, yeah.”

Five sets of eyes flicked to Roman, all of them confused. Remy was the first to regain his composure. “What?”

“Toby’s a dick and I should’ve cut ties with him sooner.” Roman looked over, watching Toby argue with the teacher. When he looked back, he gave them all a nervous smile. “I could use some friends to eat lunch with now though.”

“I guess you were never really a total dick.” Virgil mumbled under his breath, before clearing his throat. “You can sit with me and Pat.”

“Yeah, it’ll be so much fun!”

Logan watched as his friends easily adopted Roman into their new group. There were happy feelings all around, except for his own. He was still rattled by what Toby had attempted to do, and his mind refused to let the memory dissipate.

“Logan, are you sure you’re okay?” The whisper came from Emile, who was doing his best to keep his volume low and not alert anyone else.

Breathing shakily, Logan shook his head. “Not - not really.”

“If you want to leave, it’s okay.” He said, his tone gentle.

Logan nodded, before turning to the group. “I think...I’m going to call my dads and go home.”

When all he got back was faces of understanding, Logan nearly burst into tears.

“Can I give you a hug?” Patton asked.

At Logan’s small nod, Patton flung his arms around him. Emile joined in, followed by Remy and then Virgil. After someone, likely Virgil, coughed, Roman joined in too.

Once he was released, Logan made his way through the crowd, to the much quieter lobby. Thomas picked up, listened to Logan’s explanation, and promised to be there as quickly as possible.

His friends appeared a moment later, waiting with him. Once Thomas pulled up, their said their goodbyes, Remy promising to fill Logan in on any good gossip on Monday.

“You doing okay?” Thomas asked as Logan got in the car.

Waving to his friends, Logan smiled. “Yeah. I’m doing just fine.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Anxiety, holding grudges

When Monday rolled around, Logan didn’t want to go to school. He knew it was illogical, but he was afraid of what would happen with Toby. He was definitely still mad about what had happened with the dance. Toby had held a grudge against Seth for years over something that had happened in fourth grade.

Because of this, Logan was in the English classroom before the first bell rang. Mx. Stokes gave him a slight look of confusion, but didn’t press the issue. They opted to write the lesson plan on the board instead.

Once the first bell had rung and students began to file in, Logan relaxed slightly. Toby would be forced to go to his own class or risk detention, which could sit him out of the first game.

“Thank God for jocks and their one-track minds.”

“Hey, I take offense to that.”

Jumping ever so slightly, Logan turned sideways to find Roman settling into his seat. “Am I wrong though?”

Roman gave him a mock glare. “...no.”

“So...what happened with...you know.” Logan bit his lip, hoping that Roman didn’t get into trouble after he left.

Roman waved a hand. “Mr. Anderson noticed that Toby was the only one actually doing any fighting. He had me explain my side of the story and the others jumped in as witnesses. So no need to worry, my name is clear.”

Feeling the blood creep into his cheeks, Logan nodded. “You know, you didn’t have to -”

“I did have to. We’re friends, Lo, and I’m sorry I didn’t realize that earlier.” Roman poked him in the shoulder. “You’re way better than Toby anyway.”

Cheeks completely flaring now, Logan muttered a “thanks” before turning to face the board.

His blush had dissipated by the time class was over, but came back full force when Roman walked with him to his next class.

“Roman -”

“Can’t a friend walk you to class?” Roman asked, giving a nod to someone down the hall. “You’re stuck with me now, Lo. Unless you want me to go.”

Logan laughed. “And I thought you were insufferable before.”

There was a sputter to his right, making him laugh even more. The two of them fell into easy conversation as they headed to the science wing. Once they’d reached their destination, Roman waved before turning around and darting off to his next class.

Finally lunch rolled around, which meant that Logan would be able to get the proper gossip about Toby.

Gathering his tray, Logan sat down at the table to find Remy half-pulling Emile onto his lap, kissing the other deeply.

“Ahem.”

Wiping a string of saliva from his mouth, Emile settled into his seat, slowly turning red. Remy, on the other hand, simply grinned at Logan.

“So, Roman’s part of the group now.”

“Yes.”

“When are you going to ask him out?”

“Remy!” Emile scolded, turning red as a tomato when Remy pressed a quick kiss to his neck. “Leave Logan alone, he’ll do what he wants to when he’s ready.”

“I don’t mind leaving Logan alone if it means I’m with you.” Remy said, the dark look clearing from his eyes as he gave Emile the softest smile Logan had ever seen on the gossip’s face.

Emile pecked his cheek, giggling as Remy wrapped an arm around him. He looked over to Logan, who rolled his eyes at their antics. “You wanna know what happened with Toby, right?”

“Oh!” Remy let go of Emile to lean forward on his hands. “So, after Mr. Anderson talked to Toby, he talked to our dear Roman. The four of us obviously backed up his story, because we saw the whole thing. Even though he didn’t believe what  _ I _ said, he had to believe Pat and Em, because they’re the most innocent of all of us. Well, at least in the teacher’s eyes.”

“ _ Rem _ .”

“You know I love it, babe.” Remy winked at his boyfriend before continuing. “After that Mr. Anderson pulled Toby aside  _ again _ and threatened him with suspension. He’s known that Toby is trouble for a while, but Toby’s really good at doing things not on school grounds, so Mr. Anderson couldn’t do anything until Toby snapped at the dance. Toby is on the teacher’s watchlist now, which means he can’t do anything to you at school.”

Hearing those words was like a weight had been lifted off of Logan’s shoulders. Toby was easy enough to avoid after school. He doubted Toby knew the town even had a library, let alone where it was, and he certainly didn’t know where Logan lived.

That thought floated Logan through the rest of the day. When he got into study hall, Virgil didn’t mention the dance at all.

“Roman’s pretty cool.” Was the first thing Virgil said as Logan sat down. “Though I think I made him self-destruct at lunch when I mentioned that Disney movies aren’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

Logan snorted. “He really does love his Disney. It blew his mind when I told him that the Lion King and Hamlet were essentially the same story.”

The two talked for a few minutes more, before Virgil pulled out his math homework. Logan helped him through it, mad that the teachers didn’t accommodate for different learning styles. Virgil was definitely one that needed one-on-one attention.

When the bell finally rang, the two parted ways with a wave. Logan headed to his locker, jumping when someone leaned against the one next to him.

“Woah, are you okay?”

Hearing Roman’s warm voice had Logan relaxing instantly. “I am now.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Logan internally panicked.

_ That was such a gay thing to say, why did I - god now Roman’s going to know - _

“I know you’re worried about Toby, but your friends have your back.” Roman flashed Logan a blinding smile, unknowingly making Logan’s insides melt.

They walked outside, heading to Logan’s house to work on their project. As soon as they’d walked in the door, Roman grabbed Logan’s arms and sat him on the couch.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

Hoping Roman would ignore the heat rising into his cheeks, Logan nodded. “What is it?”

“...I want to try out for the spring musical.”

“Isn’t that during baseball season?” Logan asked, mentally face-palming as he did. “I mean -”

“No, you’re right.” Roman was blushing now, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I...doing this project has made me realize that I don’t really  _ like _ baseball. Theater is much more my speed.”

Logan nodded, trying very much to ignore the fact that one of Roman’s hands was still wrapped around his forearm. “I’m glad you recognize that, but what does that have to do with me?”

“Oh! Right, so…” Roman bit his lip and Logan started cursing his gay brain. “I was hoping you’d help me with my audition? I don’t want my parents to know just yet, because I know my dad wants me to stay on the baseball team.”

“What would that entail?”

“I mean I’m over here almost every day for this project anyway, so maybe we can either shorten our project time or I can stay over longer?” Finally taking his hand off of Logan’s arm, Roman waved them in the air as he spoke. “Like, we do the project and then you help me out with my audition material. Only if you want though, I can find somewhere else to practice too. Patton offered, but he said that you might be the better option.”

Thinking of how he  _ really _ needed to thank Patton for that, Logan nodded. “Sure. Any particular scene or play you’d like to look at?”

Roman shook his head. “Not exactly.”

“Roman, are you staying for dinner?” Preston called from the kitchen.

“If you’ll have me!”

“Anytime!”

Logan pulled out his laptop, pulling up a few of his favorite monologues. He swallowed hard as Roman leaned into his side, feeling his warmth where their skin touched. “Let’s start with these.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: kissing, friendly teasing

Of course,  _ of course _ , Roman picked the stereotypical monologue from Romeo and Juliet.

“Roman, if you want to stand out, I would suggest picking...literally anything else.” Logan said, putting his laptop on the coffee table. “Do you know how many people choose this monologue?”

“This is slightly different! It’s a modern version.” Roman protested, before picking up the sheet they’d printed off. “Just let me try?”

Logan sighed and waved his hand at Roman. “Fine.”

What he did not expect was for Roman to grab his hand and look him dead in the eyes as he spoke.

“But...wait. What’s that light in the window over there? It is the east, and Juliet - she is the sun. Rise, beautiful sun, and kill the jealous moon. She is already sick and pale with grief because you - you Juliet, her maid, are far more beautiful than she.”

As Roman continued his monologue, he moved closer to Logan. Logan felt like his face was on fire as Roman grew closer and closer, before reaching the final line of his monologue.

“Oh, how I wish I was the glove on that hand, so that I could touch that cheek.”

He laid his hand on Logan’s cheek, making Logan lose any breath in his body.

And suddenly the heat was gone, as Roman backed up and grinned. “How was that?”

_ Right. Acting. He was acting. _

“Amazing.” Logan tried his best to calm his thudding heart. “You really don’t need my help.”

“I’m sure there’s a lot to improve on. Voice inflections, having the right look in my eyes...those kinds of things.” Roman said, slipping the monologue into his folder. “Anyway, back to our project. We were going to finish up the stage directions today, right?”

“Uh, right. Yeah.” Logan snapped himself out of his gay thoughts, as best as he could, grabbing their project folder.

Logan just managed to get through their project. Everytime Roman brushed against him it took all of his willpower to keep himself from turning into a tomato. What didn’t help matters was that now that they were friends, Roman was much more touchy than he had been before.

“Dinner’s ready!” Preston called out, a knowing grin on his face.

“Thank you for letting me stay.” Roman said as the two of them packed up their project. He was blissfully unaware of Logan glaring daggers at his dad over his head. “My parents took Dahlia out tonight, so it would’ve been just me in the house.”

“You’re welcome to come over anytime.”

As Roman turned, Logan switched from glaring to nodding. “Anytime.”

As the days passed, Logan and Roman grew much closer. They’d already been spending most afternoons together due to their project, but now it was almost every day. Before, they’d merely been working, not really talking except for what they needed to do.

Now, they were talking a lot more and trying to get to know each other better.

“Virgil,  _ please _ . The more time I spend alone with him -”

“The harder you fall in love with him?” Virgil teased, looking up from his doodling. Logan’s face was beet red. “Alright, fine, I’ll come over. But only if I can bring Patton.”

“Deal.”

Somehow, someway, Remy found out about their hangout. He walked up to Logan after school, leaning against the next locker.

“I hear you’re having a get together tonight?” He asked, sipping his tea.

Logan gave him a look. “It’s just a few of us. I do not need you spreading the word.”

“One condition.”

Which is how Logan had ended up with his new group of friends at his house on a Friday night.

“Logan, you didn’t tell me you were having friends over!” Preston said as the six of them walked in the door. “I definitely don’t have enough pot roast to go around, so I guess we’ll have to order pizza. Poor me, having to eat pizza on this fine Friday.”

“If I had known everyone was coming over I would’ve offered up my place.” Roman told them as Preston walked away, dialing the phone.

Remy waved a hand. “I invited myself and Emile.”

“Remy!”

Emile’s protests were quickly muffled. The rest of them rolled their eyes, ignoring the couple.

Logan gestured to the TV. “We can watch a movie? Otherwise we have a ton of games in the basement.”

“Why don’t you and Roman go pick out a game?” There was a bit of a mischievous twinkle in Patton’s eye.

Virgil immediately picked up on what his boyfriend was doing. “Yeah, we’ll just try to unstick these two.”

Before Logan could suggest one of them coming along too, Roman nodded. “Sure. Where’s your basement?”

“This way.” Logan started walking, feeling the meddling eyes on his back as he left the room.

The two of them headed down into the half-finished basement. They had the walls done, but the floor was still cold concrete. Logan hissed as his bare feet touched the floor.

“Want me to carry you?” Roman teased as he headed toward the shelf with the games. There was enough that they were piled high and shoved any which way to fit into the small space.

Flushing at the offer, Logan followed after Roman. “Why don’t you pick something?”

“I haven’t even heard of some of these.”

Logan shrugged. “My family is big on games. We always have been.”

They perused the stack of games, selecting Betrayal at House on the Hill. It took some finagling, but they managed to get the game out without causing a Jenga-type avalanche.

Logan turned, heading for the stairs, but was stopped when Roman put a hand on his shoulder. “Wait.”

Spinning back around, Logan did his best to ignore how the ugly fluorescent lights seemed to cast a halo around Roman’s head. “Yeah?”

“I know you’re already helping me with the monologue and everything, but I was hoping...you know what, nevermind it’s -”

“Roman.” Logan stepped closer to him. “What do you need me to do?”

“Will you be there when I tell my parents about the audition?” Roman blurted out, looking slightly scared. “I’m hoping that having a friend there, a real friend, will help them...I don’t know, soften the blow if they don’t agree with my choices?”

“I’ll be there.”

In an instant there were arms around Logan. He stiffened ever so slightly before relaxing into the hug. Roman’s breath tickled his ear as he whispered, “Thank you.”

“Hey, what’s the hold up?” Remy called from the top of the stairs. “If you two are gonna tell me not to make out with my boyfriend and then kiss in your basement -”

“We’re not kissing!” The two of them shouted together, both of them blushing a bright red.

Roman headed up the stairs with the game, Logan right behind him.

“Then why were you taking so long?”

“We were choosing a game.” Roman waved the box in the air. “That takes some time if you wanna pick a good one.”

“Same thing applies to boys.” Logan was ready to die as Remy winked at him. “Takes some time to find a good one.”

“You can say that again.”

The six of them started on the board game, taking a short break when the pizza arrived. When the game came to a close, Remy lamented that Emile had been the betrayer all the way out the door and down the driveway.

Roman lingered in the doorway as everyone else headed home, having been picked up by their parents.

“About what I asked you...does tomorrow night work? Otherwise I can plan a different day.”

“Tomorrow is fine.” Logan gave him a smile. “The sooner they know, the better.”

“Right. Thanks again.” Roman looked up, over Logan’s head. “Thanks for having me!”

“Our pleasure.” Thomas and Preston said together, waving as Roman closed the door.

The second he was gone, Preston’s gaze flicked to Logan. He wiggled his eyebrows. “What’s tomorrow night?”

“Roman would like me to be there when he talks to his parents about the musical.” Ignoring the heat in his cheeks, Logan moved to clean up the living room. “He’s worried that they won’t approve.”

 Thankfully his dads left it at that, leaving Logan alone to clean up.

The next day seemed to go by way too fast. Before Logan could blink he was standing in front of the door to Roman’s house. The last time he’d been here was the party. Reaching out, he knocked three times.

“Come in!” Called a feminine voice.

Logan entered, immediately hugged by a young, dark-skinned girl. She gave him a toothy grin. “I’m Dahlia!”

“Dahlia, remember what we said about asking for hugs?” Roman asked as he came around the corner.

Logan could’ve died then and there. Roman was wearing a messy apron, wiping his hands on a dishtowel, looking every inch a house husband. There was a bit of flour in his hair and Logan pushed back the urge to run his fingers through the silky strands to get it out.

“Sorry!” Dahlia yelled, snapping Logan out of his extremely gay thoughts. “Mr.? Can I hug you?”

“Yes.”

“YAY!” She shrieked, latching back onto Logan.

He couldn’t help but laugh, hugging her back. When she was satisfied, she darted out of the room.

“She’s a handful, but she’s my sister.” Roman flicked the towel over his shoulder. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course. Um, you have some flour in your hair.”

Roman shook his head, combing with his fingers. “Did I get it?”

“No, um.” Logan walked forward, shaking the white powder out of Roman’s hair.

“Oh, you must be Logan!” Logan froze with his hand in Roman’s hair as a woman entered the room. She shared the same green eyes as Roman, but her hair was much darker. “I’m Margo.”

Roman pulled Logan’s hand from his hair, smiling at him. “Mom, this is Logan.”

“Very nice to meet you.” Margo had the same warm smile as her son. “You two are working on that English project together, right?”

“Yeah.” Logan said, finally finding his voice. “Roman’s a great partner.”

“I raised him right.”

“ _ We _ raised him right.” Called a voice from the kitchen.

“C’mon.” Roman grabbed Logan’s hand and pulled him into the other room. A man with the same gorgeous blonde waves as Roman glanced over from the stove as they entered. “Dad, this is Logan.”

“I’d shake your hand, but I gotta keep stirrin’.” He continued his whisking. “Call me Connor.”

“Nice to meet you, Sir.”

Not too long later, Logan was sitting at the table, eating some delicious turkey and mashed potatoes with homemade gravy. Once everyone was served, Roman gently nudged Logan under the table. Logan glanced over at him and gave him a nod.

“Mom? Dad? There’s something I have to tell you.”

Margo and Connor exchanged a quick glance before Margo nodded. “Anything, honey.”

“I - um...I -”

Logan gave Roman a smile, hoping that it looked more reassuring than it felt.

“Oh! Are you two a couple?” Margo asked. “Because we already told you we were alright with you being gay.”

“Love isn’t picky.”

It took everything Logan had to not spontaneously combust then and there. Regardless, he could feel his face boiling.

“No!” When Logan looked over, he was relieved to see that Roman was as red as he was. “We’re not - we’re just friends! What I wanted to tell you was that I’m trying out for the spring musical instead of baseball!”

There was a beat of silence. Connor raised an eyebrow. “I thought you liked baseball?”

“I do, but not as much as I used to. With our project, I realized that I really like theater.” Roman’s face was slowly turning back to its normal color. “Logan has been helping me rehearse my monologue. Tryouts are next week, and I’d love it if you guys would come.”

“Oh, honey, of course we will!”

Connor let out a sigh. “You were scared to tell me because you thought I wanted you to be in baseball, weren’t you?”

“A little.” Roman admitted, sliding his spoon through his gravy.

“Roman, I only want you to be happy. And if doing theater is what makes you happy, then I want you to try out.” Connor cleared his throat, eyes darting to Logan. “Though I do think you should reconsider the term friends. Logan seems like a nice boy.”

“DAD!”

Logan couldn’t help but laugh as Roman turned bright red.

Thankfully, they got through the rest of dinner without any more teasing or mishaps. Roman walked Logan out, rolling his eyes. “I’m  _ so _ sorry about them.”

“Don’t be. Your parents are great.” Logan leaned against the brick of the porch, sending a quick text to Thomas.

It was only a few minutes until he pulled up.

“See you Monday.”

“Bye.”

“BYE ROMAN’S BOYFRIEND!”

Logan smiled to himself as he got in the car, hearing the front door slam and giggling shrieks behind him.


End file.
